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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

T is for Tinker Bell, Thumbelina and The Fairy with the Turquoise Hair

Okay, we've made it all the way to the letter "T" with barely a mention of one of my favorite enchanted creatures. The beautiful, mischievous, winged pixies themselves . . . fairies. And I thought it high time to rectify that problem. After all, they are called fairy tales. So here are a few of the most recognizable of their kind:

First and foremost, my most favorite fairy, Tinker bell! I think in some ways Tinker bell is the most important fairy tale depicted fairy because she's the most accurate depiction of traditional fairies. Unlike the angelic creatures we often associate them with, historically fairies were tricksters and thieves, kidnapping babies and luring mortal men into their traps. Tink, with her saucy attitude and penchant for jealous trickery, is a much closer representation to the original source. And I just can't help but love an ill-tempered pixie.

Thumbelina is another well known fairy, though of course she wasn't born as such. Sprung from a walnut, she's the girl that fits on the palm of hand and seems to be the most eligible bachelorette in the realm, drawing every kind of suitor from frogs to moles. It's not until she meets a fairy prince that she finds her true match, and receiving wings as a wedding present, becoming a fairy herself.

The Fairy with Turquoise Hair, better known as The Blue Fairy, is the guiding force in the story of Pinocchio. She frequently appears to him throughout his travels, administering advice and rescuing from several ominous situations. She adopts him as his son, and through her maternal care he begins to turn his life around, acting more like the human boy he longs to be as he takes care of his elderly father and sends the Fairy money for her care when her health begins to fail. Seeing what a good person her adoptive son has become, the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair then grants him his deepest wish and turns him into a real boy.

My Favorite Version:

The bird-turned-fairy Tinker Bell from the Peter and the Starcatcher series

This post is part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme (in case you didn't already guess) is Fairy Tales. Stay tuned for the rest of the alphabet, and if you'd like to check out the other participants, simply click here.

I just heard they're doing a Peter Pan prequel called Pan- I wonder if they'll have a Tinker Bell character in it? (Hugh Jackman is reportedly playing Blackbeard.)The Thumbelina cartoon was a fave of mine as a kid.